Countries with the Most Freshwater Resources

About This Dataset

Countries ranked by total internal freshwater resources — rivers, lakes, and groundwater — in cubic kilometres per year according to FAO AQUASTAT data. Brazil holds the world's largest freshwater resources due to the Amazon basin, but access to clean drinking water per capita varies enormously depending on population distribution.

Analysis

Brazil's dominance in freshwater resources is evident, boasting over 8,000 km³/year, primarily due to the expansive Amazon basin. In contrast, Russia, while second with 4,498 km³/year, has nearly half of Brazil's resources. The United States and Canada follow, with 3,069 km³/year and 2,850 km³/year respectively, showing a significant drop-off in availability. Interestingly, China, despite its large population, has only 2,840 km³/year, indicating potential challenges in water distribution and access. The stark differences in resource availability raise concerns about sustainable management, especially in populous nations like India and China, which have similar freshwater resources (1,911 km³/year and 2,840 km³/year respectively) but vastly different population densities.

Source: FAO

Key Findings

🏆

Brazil leads in Internal Freshwater Resources (km³/year) with 8,233.

📊

Average Internal Freshwater Resources (km³/year): 3,431 · median: 2,845.

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Gap: Brazil is 4.3× larger than India.